Christmas pudding - HELP!

alanbb

Hello folks,

My wife is trying her hand at making Christmas pudding, but is running into a few problems.

The actual mix itself is'nt a problem it's actually the cooking. She first used a plastic pudding bowl with a lid, and placed this in a large saucepan of boiling water, all was fine until the bottom of the bowl melted from the heat. She then tried placing an upturned saucer under the bowl at the bottom of the pot of water, but the heat was still to much for it and it melted.

She had previously tried it with pyrex bowls, and while most of the pudding came out fine (we even tasted it), the part at the top of the bowl was uncooked and full of water. I'm guessing that bowl was'nt sealed tight enough.

Any ideas or tips?

Thanx in advance....

olaola

From many years of helping the aul one make puddings!

First of all - the lid is not enough to stop water getting in. You need to put greaseproof paper (with a fold in the middle to allow for steam) on top. Secure with elastic band or twine. And then put a tin foil lid on top of that, also with a fold. Tie REALLY tightly with twine (you'll need a spare finger for this… and it hurts!) and fashion a handle from the twine.

My mum has little inserts that raise the bowls off the bottom of the pans. She did use plastic (successfully) for years, but I think they just got too old and now is using ceramic ones. I suppose you could even use a few small (even sized) pebbles? Just to get it off the bottom of the pan, and make sure it doesn't burn dry! If all else fails, I'm sure you could do it in a bain marie in the oven too.

gibo_ie

We use a ceramic tile (wall or floor) broken to size to sit in the bottom of the pressure cooker and works a treat. You can even reuse it next year!

SoundWave

I cooked mine last weekend using plastic bowls and they turned out great.

Making sure you have decent seal on the bowl is defo essential, i normally go with greaseproof, tinfoil, string then plastic lid.. seems to work a treat.

With regard to the mix i generally soak the friut in orange&lemon juice + whiskey for about 24 hours just to make sure they are nicely plumped up.

i generally make some small testers just to make sure the mix is right.

alanbb

Thanx for all the tips folks, really helpful.

I would imagine the lid not being sealed tight was the main problem... seems easy enough to sort.

But I'm still worrid as to why the second plastic bowl still ended up having a hole in the bottom!
Like I said, we placed an upside down saucer on the bottom of the pot, but maybe this did'nt raise it enough..

Any more thoughts?

SoundWave

maybe she has them at too high a temp? or maybe there was a small crack in the second one that expanded with the heat?

ive never raised the bowls above the pan base and they have always come out fine... never melted or anything like that.

Mr Magnolia

Put a tea-towel into the water between the base of the pan and the base of the bowl.

The Sweeper

Is it a deep enough saucepan? If there's enough water in it, the bowl will have some buoyancy and won't be resting in one place against the bottom of the saucepan.

alanbb

SoundWave wrote: »

maybe she has them at too high a temp? or maybe there was a small crack in the second one that expanded with the heat?

ive never raised the bowls above the pan base and they have always come out fine... never melted or anything like that.

Another good point, what temperature do you guys recommend?
SHe was letting the water boil, then turning it down to a simmer.

chuckles30

You have to use boiling water and keep it topped up during the cooking process. Don't put the pudding into cold water if you know what I mean. Then just keep the water simmering. I know this from watching my mother doing it for years. She never lifts the bowls up and they always come out fine. The plastic bowls don't work if you're doing them in the oven though - you need the ceramic ones for that.

foodaholic

i make ours the old fashoned way wrapped in muslin, it turns out great everytime